BEGINNING WITH HIM
December, 2000 Edition
As is the continued tradition, the first E-Mail Ministry (EMM) message
of the month is my chance to talk to all of you about E-Mail Ministry
and other related items.
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR TODAY’S MESSAGE:
[E-MAIL MINISTRY TURNS TWO YEARS OLD] [E-MAIL MINISTRY INCORPORATES]
[IMPOSTER MESSAGE UPDATE] [E-MAIL MINISTRY PRAYER COVENANT]
[ASHLEY’S CHRISTIAN BUMPER STICKERS] [RISK] [LETTER TO THE EDITOR]
[CHRISTIAN MATH] [CHRISTIAN WALK AND OUTREACH WEB RING]
[POLL QUESTIONS] [LINKS PAGE] [CHURCH HUMOR]
[SUBSCRIBER COUNTRIES] [CHANGE OF E-MAIL ADDRESS]
[USAGE OF E-MAIL MINISTRY MESSAGES] [CLICK TO HELP OTHERS]
* * *
E-MAIL MINISTRY TURNS TWO YEARS OLD
It was two years ago this December 3rd that E-Mail Ministry was
launched! God combined my call to evangelism and my interest in the
power of the internet and e-mail to form E-Mail Ministry. 15 people
were originally ‘volunteered’ as subscribers. Now it has grown to over
11,400 people in over 40 countries. I would like to thank all of you
who have followed God’s lead and have made E-Mail Ministry so
successful. Based on your wonderful comments it is obvious that this
ministry is being used by God to touch people’s lives. These messages
are used in Bible studies, Sunday School, sermons, prison ministry,
mission ministry and countless other outreach ministries.
I have enjoyed the past two years. It has been a labor of love. With
your prayers and support, the best is yet to come!
* * *
E-MAIL MINISTRY INCORPORATES
As I discussed in the November newsletter, due to the shutting down of
iBelieve.com, E-Mail Ministry (EMM) lost its referral fee source of
financing. As a result, I decided to incorporate E-Mail Ministry as a
non-profit organization. This will allow EMM to receive donations. At
this time, however, donations are NOT tax-deductible. (That may come at
a later date). If you feel so lead, you may send donations (checks &
money orders only in US funds, no cash) to:
E-Mail Ministry, Inc.
P.O. Box 944
Garden City, MI 48136-0944
Donations will be used to offset the growing costs of this ministry. It
is my intention and prayer that EMM always remains free to those who
wish to receive the messages.
I will continue to investigate other sources of income such as affiliate
programs with other web sites.
* * *
IMPOSTER MESSAGE UPDATE
Over the past few months, EMM has come under increasing attacks which
have been very disheartening. The latest affected all of you in the
form of the imposter note which was sent out early last month. I
appreciate all of you who sent supporting notes during this very trying
incident.
To the best of my abilities, I have investigated the source of this
message and how it was sent. It appears that the sender was able to
‘disguise’ the message as coming from EMM which is how it managed to get
sent to all of you. There is NO evidence that the sender was able to
gain access to your e-mail address. Several people indicated that they
received the same message through other eGroups distribution lists as
well other on-line list providers.
I have modified the setup of the EMM eGroups account so that not only am
I the only one who can send messages, but I now have to approve, within
the eGroups system, all messages prior to their being sent. This should
prevent any further unauthorized messages from getting through to you.
* * *
E-MAIL MINISTRY PRAYER COVENANT
It is my prayer that EMM continues to grow, serve the Body of Christ,
and remain free to all who wish to receive the messages. I would very
much appreciate all of you who have entered into a continuous prayer
covenant with E-Mail Ministry asking God for protection over me, my
family and this ministry that we and EMM will continue to be strong and
do His work.
I thank all of you for your prayers, words of encouragement and wiliness
to share this ministry with others. EMM has truly been a blessing to me
and, judging from your notes, (and the obvious attacks by the enemy
attempting to undermine EMM) a blessing to you all as well.
Thanks and God’s blessings.
— doug
* * *
ASHLEY’S CHRISTIAN BUMPER STICKERS
I am proud to announce that my 12 year old daughter has joined me in
E-Mail Ministry. As part of her confirmation requirements, she has
developed a web page featuring the Christian bumper stickers that she
has collected and displays in her room. You can view her page at:
https://www.emailministry.org/bumper.asp
Feel free to send her a note using the comments form at the bottom of
the web page. She would love to hear your comments. If you know of
other Christian bumper stickers which are not displayed, feel free to
send her a note and the text using the same form.
* * *
RISK
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken.
Because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
If you risk nothing and do nothing, you dull your spirit.
You may avoid suffering and sorrow,
But you cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, and live.
Chained by your attitude, you are a slave.
You have forfeited your freedom.
Only if you risk are you free.
* * *
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
A Christian wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper and complained
that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday.
“I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard
something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me I can’t remember a
single one of them. So I think I’m wasting my time . . . and the pastors
are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”
This started a real controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column,
much to the delight of the editor.
It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
“I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked
some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall what the menu
was for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: they all
nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife
had not given me those meals, I would be dead today.”
No comments were made on the sermon contents anymore.
* * *
CHRISTIAN MATH
This has got to be the best mathematical equation I have ever seen:
1 cross + 3 nails = 4 given
That’s the whole gospel message simply stated:
Jesus died for us.
* * *
POLL QUESTIONS
The November poll question results can viewed from a link on the main
web page. Here are the December poll questions (Go the web site at:
https://www.emailministry.org/#Polls register your vote!! Please do NOT
send me an e-mail with your vote!)
Q1: Which is the greater holiday? Christmas or Easter
Q2: Do you prefer a live Christmas tree or an artificial tree?
PLEASE NOTE: The banners on the guest book, poll questions and
referral do NOT support E-Mail Ministry and E-Mail Ministry does not
support them.
* * *
LINKS PAGE
Thanks to all of you who submitted a link to be added to the EMM Links
Page. If you would like to recommend a Christian site, please use the
‘Add a Link’ form at: https://www.emailministry.org/links.asp
You can add a link from your web site to E-Mail Ministry. Simply copy
the following html code into your web page using your html editor:
* * *
CHURCH HUMOR
If you have a funny, clean, church/Christian based humor piece, please
submit it to: emailministry@emailministry.org
I received several new humor pieces this past month. They have been
posted on the humor page at: https://www.emailministry.org/humor.asp
* * *
SUBSCRIBER COUNTRIES
The number of subscribers per month continues to level off. For the six
month period between March & August, 2000 there were an average of 1,100
new subscribers per month. For the past three months the average has
dropped to 700 per month.
This month I welcome Romania to the list of subscriber locations. See
the https://www.emailministry.org/countries.htm for a list of countries.
If you are from a country other than those indicated with an “X”, please
let me know by sending an e-mail to emailministry@emailministry.org
Please don’t miss understand me, I am thrilled with the growth of EMM
over the past 24 months and thankful for all who pass on the messages to
others. It is my prayer and the vision of EMM that this ministry reach
Christians and seekers of all nations as one of many means to build and
strengthen the Body of Christ. There is still a lot of work to do and,
with your help and God’s blessings, we will continue this important
work.
* * *
CHANGE OF E-MAIL ADDRESS
I appreciate all of you who have notified me of your e-mail address
change. However, I CANNOT change your e-mail address for you. Here is
information that will assist you.
UNSUBSCRIBE from the old e-mail address: Send a blank e-mail message
from the old e-mail address to EMailMinistry-unsubscribe@egroups.com
SUBSCRIBE from the new e-mail address: Send a blank e-mail message
from the new e-mail address to EMailMinistry-subscribe@egroups.com .
* * *
USAGE OF E-MAIL MINISTRY MESSAGES
As always, feel free to send these messages on to others as the Lord
leads you. I do have one request (and it is an optional request) if you
use these messages in your church bulletins, sermons, bible studies,
etc., it would be nice if you put “Message distributed by E-Mail
Ministry (https://www.emailministry.org)” at the bottom of any material
you use. That way more people will become aware of this ministry.
* * *
CLICK TO HELP OTHERS
I have received several e-mails from people letting me know about other
web sites besides ‘The Hunger Site’ where people can ‘click to donate’
food, etc. to help others and the earth. Therefore, I have moved those
links to a separate web page:
https://www.emailministry.org/clicktodonate.htm
“When they finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of
John, do you truly love me more than these?’. ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said,
‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.'” – John 21, 15
* * *
I pray this finds you all growing in the understanding of how God loves
you.
— doug
Founder, Editor, Webmaster & ‘Chief Bottle Washer’ of E-Mail Ministry